The Search for Kurtis
by SearchforKurtis
Summary: Set immediately after the events of The Angel of Darkness, Eckhardt is dead and Kurtis is missing. Lara is searching high and low for him but why, is it out of camaraderie or is it something more personal. Along the way Lara must face foes she thought dead, and discover what happened to Kurtis after his battle with Boaz.
1. Aftermath

**Aftermath**

It was only when Lara had exited Strahov, did she realize how cold it was. The majority of the time she had been in a car or indoors but now the sub-zero temperatures made her shiver, it wasn't a good day to be wearing a crop-top and cargo shorts. She knew that she couldn't take refuge from the biting temperatures in a coffee shop, not with a pistol clearly visible on her hip, nor did she want to. Lara had other things on her mind, after killing Eckhardt and destroying the Sleeper she hadn't been able to find Kurtis. Karel revealed his true form and transformed himself into people whom she had encountered since Paris, Bouchard, Luddick,...Kurtis. Surprise and anger had swept over her when she saw Karel take Kurtis' form, had the mysterious Lux Veritatis agent whom she had grown accustomed to been a fabrication of the last of the Nephili all along? This was exactly the reason that she had smirked when she saw the Chirugai lying in a puddle of blood," At least he was real" she thought to herself. When the Chigurai became active and vanished into the darkness she knew that it was returning to Kurtis and that she had to find him.

Finally she made it back to the car she had stolen back in Paris to get to Prague, it's previous owner an assassin hired by Louis Bouchard to kill her certainly didn't need it. Driving down the street she could hear the sounds of sirens in the distance, she had doubted that an explosion inside Strahov would've escape the public eye and she needed to move, after all she was still wanted by the police in connection to The Monstrum killings, just because she had killed Eckhardt didn't mean she was no longer a fugitive, after all Eckhardt wasn't a suspect. Stopping at a hotel by the Old Prague Square, she stored her weapons in a hidden compartment in the back seat she had found by chance earlier on and bought a room with some of the money she had left from Paris. Lara didn't want to return to Croft Manor just yet, she felt that if she stuck around Prague for just a while longer something would come up. Stepping into the bathroom she turned on the hot water tap for the porcelain bathtub and stepped out of her combat gear she had worn since Paris. The shorts were new and not so bad but she had worn her crop-top for three days now. Stepping into the hot water she let herself relax and let the water do it's magic. "Pure bliss!" she thought as the rising steam left condensation on the mirror on the wall. After her bath Lara ordered food from room-service and managed to get someone to take her dirty clothes away to be dry-cleaned. Lara only had a hundred euros left to spend as the rest was needed to get back home, and she needed to get some new warm clothing items, she didn't want to catch her death of cold now did she. She smirked to herself at the thought of world renowned adventurer Lara Croft, defeater of Atlantean gods and demons dying of hypothermia. The thought quickly left her mind as she trudged wearily to bed.

The next morning Lara rose at eleven o'clock and left to buy the clothes she needed in the square. In the end Lara had bought a woolly sheepskin army surplus bomber jacket with a thick wool jumper underneath and pair of urban camouflage cargo pants. She hated shopping in old second hand shops but she had to conserve her dwindling supply of money in order to get back home. The journey was long back to England, five hours stuck in the airport, plus the long flight back to London. The car was there to pick her up at Gatwick and she departed for Croft Manor." I'll be back for you Kurtis" she thought "All I need is the right money and resources and I will find you". She needed to get back to Paris immediately, somehow in her mind she knew that Kurtis would go there. She went to her armory immediately and got her trusty dual pistols, if only she'd known what she had to go through she would have have packed them along with her denim jacket too. While packing away some other combat gear, ammo, flares, med packs etc. Into an old leather suitcase, Winston entered " Going so soon mi'lady?" he inquired, "Winston I need to get to Paris, call Zip in New York and tell him to meet me there" Lara answered, "It is time to find Kurtis". "Who is Kurtis mi'lady?" Winston asked confused but Lara had other things on her mind, the search was on.


	2. Return to Paris

**Return to Paris**

The first thing Lara did when she got off the plane was a hail a taxi to take her to the Cafe Metro. When Lara entered the cafe Pierre instantly recognized her and said "I hear that Bouchard is dead and that you were involved, anything you want is on the house", Lara smiled at the gesture and ordered a cup of Earl Grey and a croissant with raspberry jam and found a seat. Lara couldn't help but think back to less than a week ago when she first saw Kurtis in the very table she was sitting at now, little did she realize then what a big impact he would have on her. Suddenly the little delight of getting a free snack was gone and Lara found herself feeling blue. A man came up to the window outside and stared into the interior until he saw Lara, entering the cafe he sat down opposite her and said "Jeez I didn't think you'd order without me" in a joking manner. "Well maybe if you didn't take so long to arrive a this little rendezvous I wouldn't of Zip" she replied with a grin on her face. Lara and Zip hugged each other and engaged in small-talk for a few minutes before Lara brought up the business at hand. "Zip I need your help with finding a man", Zip looked at her for a minute and replied in his usual manner "Look no further Lara". Lara couldn't help but smile as the memory of the homeless man surfaced, he too had said the same thing to her when she was looking for Bouchard. "No Zip,a specific man, goes by the name of Kurtis, the only known haunt I have for him is here and well take a look he's not here" was the response he got for his joke. Zip took a quick glance around the empty cafe and answered "Got a last name for this Kurtis guy?" "No Lara replied but I know that he was a member of the Lux Veritatis, a secret order and that by the way he carried himself he seemed military trained, see if you can hack your way into a military database, check the Foreign Legion first."" Okay" said Zip "but I don't think we'll find much on the Lex Veritootis or whatever". "Look anyway" was the stern response followed by a teasing "Au Revoir!" Out of the corner of her eye as she got up to leave she saw Zip shake his head and call for a waiter.

Retracing her steps to Le Serpent Rouge where she had next seen Kurtis she wondered why was he there, did he leave something important there for her to find. A shot rang out and Lara could feel the bullet whizzing by her head, diving into an alley Lara drew her pistols from their concealed holsters and waited. She could hear the footsteps getting closer. When her assailant was almost parallel to her she rushed out and disarmed him with a kick to his forearm. She forced the man deep into the alley and spat out menacingly "Who sent you?" The man panicked and blurted out "Marten Gunderson... Marten Gunderson sent me". She released him but before he could draw a hidden blade Lara's bullet found it's mark. "Typical" she sighed " Most of Eckhardt's Cabal has been wiped out and they still hassle me". Lara proceeded on cautiously using only back alleys and rooftops to edge closer to the former nightclub. Lara used a vent-shaft to gain access to the club and it was apparent that someone was waiting here for her. She hugged the shadows and only managed to see the barrel of the gun following her across the room in the nick of time. Two shots fired one from Lara the other from the mercenary, a thud was heard as the assailants body hit the floor and Lara looked at the bullet embedded in the wall behind her, thanking her lucky stars that henchmen are inaccurate before proceeded to search for any sign of Kurtis. The place came up a blank until Lara found the CCTV footage of Kurtis entering the club, he walked up to a drawer and put something inside the drawer in the coat room. Lara rushed to the coat room and found that it was a note for her

"Dear Ms. Croft

I know that your friend was killed by The Monstrum, but this is a bad path to take. Stay out of this one. However if you really want information there is something I left in a locker in the metro station nearby for you, hopefully it will convince you to keep yourself out of trouble.

PS be inconspicuous the police are still looking for you"

KT"

"How did he know so much about me at that stage?" Lara wondered but she had a goal to make. With the letter came a key and with that she was off to the metro station.


	3. A New Lead

**A New Lead**

The metro station was filthy and a pungent smell of urine was in air. Lara walked briskly through the station partly to avoid the smell but also to not hang around for too long, Gunderson and the police were still after her and she did not feel like getting cornered here. The key to the locker had 626 written on it's tag and she quickly located the locker. When she opened it her breath caught in her throat for a second, inside the locker was her backpack "How did Kurtis find this?" she thought to herself. When she checked inside the backpack there was a sort of dossier with a symbol on the front, she remembered correctly that it was a Lux Veritatis symbol from Werner's notes and she needed somewhere private to read it. As Lara was leaving the metro she spotted a guard staring at her intently "Uh Oh!" she thought aloud just as the guard talked into his walkie talkie and pointed in her direction. She sprinted up the stairs to the surface but one of the guards managed to dive after her and grab her leg. With a thud Lara tripped and landed roughly on the ground, she flailed her leg wildly trying to get the guard to let go and found success when she heard a hiss of pain and she was able to get up. Lara breathed a sigh of relief and wouldn't stop running until she got back to her lodgings.

Back safely in her room Lara removed the dossier from her backpack and started reading. The dossier was a list of names of Lux Veritatis Knights going as far back as the end of World War II. All of the names had a black X marked next to them, all except two, "Kurtis Heissturm" and "Mathias Vasiley", she didn't need to guess what the black X meant. Attached to the dossier was a note stuck on to it with a paper clip. The note read...

"If a group of people trained to take on what you are going after have failed, then you stand no chance. It's best if you go home now.

KT"

Lara didn't know what the"T"stood for as the dossier stated that Kurtis' name was Heissturm. It was only then that Lara noticed the phone ringing, picking it up Zip's voice could be heard on the other line. "Lara I didn't have any luck on the secret order front, but I did manage to find someone who was in the Foreign Legion named Kurtis-" Zip got no further as Lara interrupted him when she excitedly exclaimed "Heissturm". "No, Kurtis Trent" came Zip's uneasy response, he had never heard Lara so excited before and was wondering why this guy mattered so much. Lara was disappointed until she heard what Zip had to say next. "Sergeant Kurtis "Demon Hunter" Trent, served in the French Foreign Legion between 1991 and 1996, the occult always seemed to follow him so that would explain his nickname". Lara with a renewed vigor asked him if he found out anymore information on Kurtis Trent. Zip replied positively with a phone book address on 72 Rue de Montmorency. Lara thanked Zip politely and now knowing what "T" actually stood for got up with the incantation that "Break time was over".

It was twilight when Lara reached the address listed and she walked into the studio apartment above a butcher shop. Lara kicked in the door and looked around. The apartment was a mess with documents strewn everywhere, paintings even scrap metal. Lara needed to find a clue fast, something about the room didn't seem right. Wading through the piles of paper, various dossiers and portraits of medieval Lux Veritatis Knights Lara stumbled upon a footlocker. Inside the footlocker was a pistol, the same kind that Kurtis had already used in The Louvre and in Prague. She put the pistol in her backpack careful to take the clip out and empty the chamber first, as well as some spare clips for the weapon. Inside the footlocker as well was a journal with a family crest on it. "This is it!" she exclaimed "Some evidence of Kurtis' movements". While passing the window she noticed a man outside across the street who appeared to be staring up at her, she could only see his silhouette, he was a tall man wearing a heavy overcoat and with tightly cropped hair. "Gunderson" she hissed not needing to guess for the second time that day and just at that moment he pulled something out of his pocket. A beeping noise echoed from somewhere in the corner of the room and it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what it was. "Not again" breathed Lara in an almost too calm fashion as she turned to run out of the room...


	4. The Journal

**The Journal**

...Sprinting down the stairs as fast as she could, Lara wondered just how long the bomb could have left. Panic surfaced in her as she lost her footing, missing a step and falling down the rest of the staircase. Pain surged in her left leg as she limped the rest of the way out the building, she had barely gotten ten metres outside the door when the bomb went off-the shock wave sending her once more falling to the concrete ground. When she looked up Gunderson was gone and she heard sirens. People were staring at the fire erupting from the apartment from the windows of their own apartments and she limped off down an alleyway just as a police car sped by. Managing to stay undetected she went went back to the safety of her hotel room and sat down and read the last entry in Kurtis' journal for clues.

"I have a new lead in my fight against Eckhardt, an associate of the archaeologist that Eckhardt hired to find one of the paintings. From my rooftop perch atop the apartment opposite Von Croy's I could see it all unfold. To my regret I couldn't do anything but watch as he was murdered. The woman however was spared and I watched her flee the Parisian police. She dropped something important when she fled a backpack or something and I somehow managed to sneak up on the policeman who had retrieved it from the dogs it and take it from him, maybe there's a clue in here. With my lead on Von Croy dead I couldn't do much when to my surprise the next day, the woman came into the cafe I was eating breakfast in. I've identified the woman as adventurer Lara Croft and now that I've seen her in the proper light I was quite taken aback with her. When she mentioned Le Serpent Rouge I knew that she would be a thorn in my side during my mission so I knew that I had to dissuade her somehow. I left her backpack in one of the rooms in Le Serpent Rouge with a note and key to a locker for her. Hopefully it might dissuade her but at most it will probably slow her down. I managed to get out in the nick of time as I saw as I sped away on my motor cycle. I used a spare key to put a dossier of Lux Veritatis names in a storage locker nearby with a note attached, that ought to buy me some time. By the time I had done that and gotten to my next vantage point it was only about an hour before I saw her again, running down a sewage pipe with flames erupting around her before diving into the Seine. That girl's got some guts, by now she's probably figured out that The Louvre is where the Obscura Painting is hidden, so that'll be my next stop, first though I have to bury my fathers treasure underneath the Alchemist's Haunt only twenty doors away.

Lara felt a bit flattered as she read out the part where Kurtis was taken aback with her, a bashful smile appearing on her face. However as she read deeper it all began to click into place and her flattered attitude was soon replaced by a feeling of intrusion, "He was watching me the whole time" Lara exclaimed "I always knew he was a stalker" she said in a surprisingly light-hearted response, softening a bit as she remembered they both had the same goal. She read aloud the last sentence a few times before looking away from the journal with a puzzled look on her face, "Alchemist's Haunt... twenty doors away, what does that mean". Suddenly a light-bulb appeared above her head and something clicked inside her brain. "Of course" enlightenment showing on her visage "the Alchemist Nicholas Flamel lived on the same street as Kurtis, Rue de Montmorency. Flamel lived at number 52 and Kurtis at 72 literally twenty doors away". Lara suddenly felt foolish at how such an easy riddle had baffled her for a few seconds. She still didn't know where in the house this treasure was supposed to be at or if it had any significance in her search at all but anything to do with Kurtis seemed important to her. She began speculating for just how long would this go on for "Why am I doing this?" she asked herself "I barely know him". "You feel for him" came a voice in her head which just left her more confused. Somehow she would not be sated until she she knew where he was. "Night-time is my best bet of finding this treasure that Kurtis had buried", was her conclusion and so began the long wait until the safety of tomorrow night, the police would still be swarming the area tonight, "Bad for business" was her take on times like these.


	5. Dreams and Treasures

**Dreams and Treasures**

Lara crept stealthily through the Louvre, she had the Obscura Painting and now she needed to escape. As she entered into one of the many sections of the gallery a glowing object caught her eye. Ducking just in time Kurtis' chirugai swept over her head, now she was fully alerted to the danger she was in. Despite this she still fell into Kurtis' trap only realizing her predicament when she felt the cold steel of the Boran X's muzzle against her neck, inside she was furious for letting this stalker get the better of her so easily. To her surprise though she felt a rush of exhilaration run through her when Kurtis slid his hand down her arm. With one gun lying on the floor Kurtis began to slide his hand even further across her stomach to get the other gun from it's holster, Lara held her breath and she could hear her heart beat. Lara should have felt violated but in truth she felt strangely good, no'one had ever been this successful over her and it was a new experience for her, she had been captured and disarmed before but always by a group and never a sole captor, he suddenly reached around and remove the Obscura Painting from her backpack and without any further notice Lara was twirled around so that she was face to face with her captor, the first thing she noticed were his piercing blue eyes, she seemed lost in those eyes and it became apparent to her that there was some sort of chemistry between them. Kurtis' gun never left his target and despite this Lara still moved closer until their faces were only a centimetre away, and then...

Lara awoke from the dream with her heart pounding, she was at a loss for words as something like this had never happened to her before. Quickly she went into the bathroom and tossed some cold water on her face, she looked up and stared at her wet reflection in the mirror and tried to persuade herself that it meant nothing "Get a grip of yourself Lara! It didn't happen like that". She dried her face and got changed into a clean pair of clothes, jeans and a leather jacket over a white shirt and looked at the clock, "Four AM" Lara winced as her window of opportunity was closing. She got all the equipment she needed and proceeded to Rue de Montmorency. On her way there she couldn't help but think back to that day in the Louvre, it seemed like an eternity ago but it was barely a week ago. "God you are losing it" a voice in her head told her, but she blocked it out. After she arrived at the address she managed to shove in the heavy door and examine her surroundings. The room was dark and musty and she crept around the bottom floor in vain searching for any indication of an treasure, her torch illuminating the dark corners of the room. She slowly made her way up to the rafters in the attic. Cobwebs and dust littered the attic and the air was heavy and had a pungent aroma. One of Lara's shoelaces became undone and when she bent down to tie it up again she noticed a symbol on the floor, wiping away some of the dust she noticed that it was the same crest that was on Kurtis' journal. "Eureka!" Lara exclaimed as she lifted up the old floorboards to pick up an old strongbox. Her heart melted when she opened the box and saw that it was just an old ring inside, she shouldn't have been surprised as the journal promised no information but it still made her sad. "Looks like this was a dead end" said Lara with a hint of sorrow in her voice.

Returning the ring to it's hiding place and replacing the floorboard she exited the building careful to force the door shut as much as possible. She knew that she needed Zip's help further and went to the payphone down the street to call him. Lara put some money in the phone booth and dialed Zip's number, after a lengthy period of time he picked up and Lara began to instruct him what to do next. "Zip, I need more information on Kurtis Trent look up anything else you can find" but the voice that replied to her wasn't Zip's it sounded deep and Germanic "I'm afraid that your friend is busy Ms. Croft", a shiver went down Lara's spine as she didn't know what Gunderson would do to Zip "If he hasn't done it already" the voice inside her head told her. Gunderson laughed at her through the receiver and was quick to quip "I'm surprised my men haven't found you yet, they're usually very punctual". No sooner had the words escaped Gundeson's lips that Lara saw an SUV barreling down the street at her at full speed, it's headlights glaringly bright. With only a split second to react Lara pulled open the door of the phone booth and dived out of the way just as the SUV went crashing through it. Lara took what little cover she could get behind a lamp post and drew her pistols. "Bring it on" she snarled as the doors of the SUV opened and bullets began to fly...


	6. Gunfights

**Gunfights**

...Lara could feel the bullets ricochet against the lamp post as Gunderson's men fired their Mag Vegas at her. She had little time to waste and responded with a few rounds from her own guns, to her misfortune no'one was hit and her cover wasn't that safe any more now that they were converging on it. Rolling out onto the street she fired again with one of the men being hit in the chest, at this point Lara was exposed and they could have easily picked her off but to her luck they reacted to their comrade's death and sunk further into cover. Lara went prone on the street so that she could see the legs of her enemies underneath the SUV, taking aim she fired and a yelp followed by a thud was heard, the man was now lying in the street "Easy prey" Lara thought as she quickly finished him off. Two more enemies remained and she was running low on ammo, she got up and sprinted to the side of the car opposite the men careful to hide behind a Tyre so as not to fall into the same trap as their recently deceased colleague. Lara reloaded her pistols and got up just in time to shoot one of them through the windows in the car, creating a new hole right between his eyes. The final enemy responded with a burst from his sub-machine gun but he wasn't accurate. Lara was calm but she could sense that her opponent was panicking, he let off another burst from his Mag Vega until a click click sound echoed through the street, Lara quickly got up rounded the other side of the vehicle and killed him before he could load another magazine. The faint sound of a CB Radio could be heard from inside the car as Lara heard "Hurry we have to get back to "The Mandarin" meet up at the quay" "Henchmen" Lara commented "Giving away information without knowing who's listening."

Lara sped through Paris at full speed, she wasn't exactly inconspicuous breaking the speed limit in an SUV riddled with bullet holes, but subtlety wasn't what Lara was going for, she had to race against the clock to save her friend's life. The GPS system on the dashboard indicated that she was close, further building up her determination. When she reached the quay she saw her target, the river boat "The Mandarin" she began driving at full speed down the quay and jumping the vehicle onto the deck of the disembarking boat. "This seems familiar" Lara smirked recalling an incident in Egypt years ago where she did the same thing to escape Von Croy's henchmen, it was funny she had never really mourned him properly but now was not the time. The gunfire started as soon as she exited the vehicle as she raced down the deck firing at her assailants while also seeking cover. She managed as per usual to kill her attackers and went below deck. Carefully and cautiously Lara tread further in, along the way many would be assassins fell to her pistols as they were always poised to shoot. Lara suddenly reached a doorway at the stern end of the boat and could hear Zip's voice on the other side, she didn't know how many men were on the other side but she had to act fast, one of the men she had killed had a a few stun grenades on him and now was the time for Lara to use them, going back to the body she retrieved one of the grenades and went back to the door. Trying the handle, she discovered the room was unlocked but got a spray of splinters due to gunfire flying off the door when she threw in the stun grenade. Lara counted to three and BANG, kicking in the door once more she finished off her opponents and untied the very much dazed Zip from his bonds. "Could you try not to blind me next time Lara, oh and by the way I know that you tried to ring me earlier on, why would you try and wake me up at that ungodly hour". Lara smiled even in a life or death situation Zip had time to joke around. "Where's Gunderson?" Lara asked but Zip didn't know "But I did hear one of his cronies mention a warehouse near the Sorbonne". Lara always knew that Zip could come in handy even out of this comfort zone, "Go home Zip it's too dangerous here but thank you for your help", she was annoyed that she had to send him home to get him out of harm's way and wasn't able to help her anymore. "Okay don't have to tell me twice" was his joking response, "Tell me" he asked cocking an eyebrow "Do you always fight your enemies in casual attire". She hadn't noticed she was still in a pair of jeans with a leather jacket, "No" was her only half-joking response "But you're special Zip, although I think for Gunderson I shall wear something more...versatile" and with that Lara left Zip where he was and went to finish off Marten Gunderson once and for all.


	7. The Warehouse

**The Warehouse**

Lara immediately went back to her hotel room packed her gear and checked out, Gunderson was now a fully fledged threat to her and she had to finish him off now once and for all. Lara got changed into some clothes that would allow her to be more maneuverable, thick boots, a black tank-top and the urban camouflaged cargo pants she bought in Prague. She was sick of going out at night time by now but it was deemed necessary she was too exposed during the daytime. Unfortunately for her there were five warehouses near the Sorbonne and she didn't know which one exactly Gunderson was in, she checked only two in the end as she could see two Agency gunmen on patrol on the roof of warehouse number two." Here goes nothing" exclaimed Lara to herself and rushed out into the open whilst firing her pistols at the guards on the roof, fortunately she was accurate, hitting the two patrolling guards before they could spot her themselves. Hiding behind a crate in front of the warehouse she watched as the big metal door slid open and a plethora of guards rushed out, grabbing a Mag Vega that had fallen off of the roof from one of the guards, she got up and fired into the mass. The guards were stunned temporarily as she continued firing, stopping only when the magazine was empty, a brief silence hung in the air until the screams and groans of the dying were heard. Lara quickly went inside the warehouse and noticed no'one else was around, there were some more crates in the corners and centre and a gantry overhead at the far end of the room but other than that there was no sign of life. The guards voices quickly became silent, Lara didn't feel any remorse for them "They got what was coming to them" was her cold and damning comment as she walked slowly inside.

The sound of guns being cocked was heard behind her as she spun around to see more guards replacing the dead outside, footsteps echoed through the warehouse as more men poured out onto the gantry, she was trapped and she knew it "I'm surprised you've lasted this long" Gunderson thundered suddenly appearing on the gantry. Gunderson nodded and the steel door slowly closed shut, "Gunderson" Lara spat "Why do you still pursue me Eckhardt is dead?", Gunderson chortled at this " There is still someone in the Cabal who wants you dead", Lara was shocked at this she thought that Gunderson was alone but someone else had survived. "Who?" demanded Lara even further, she really didn't like leaving a job half-finished. "Joachim Karel" boomed Gunderson again, taking pleasure at her reaction, the shock that Lara had felt moments earlier was suddenly eclipsed by this news, she tried to brush it off "Impossible he's dead" but at the same time doubt clouded her mind. "How could Karel have survived that" she asked herself, after all it wasn't common for people to survive being in the epicenter of an explosion like that.

Lara thought back to the events of the past week, the nephili, the Periapt shards and Karel's supposed death, she suddenly realized the Periapt Shards weren't used to defeat him and that he couldn't have died because of his nephilim blood. Gunderson pivoted on his heels so that his right side was facing Lara, it was then that Lara noticed something hanging from his belt. "Where did you get that?" Lara snarled fiercely at Gunderson wanting to know where he got the weapon which Lara had seen in use before under a different owner- _the chirugai_. "I'm afraid that it's previous owner will no longer need it" Gunderson laughed in delight turning to face her once more, "No he cant be dead" Lara screamed at him her heart plummeting, "Not dead, no" Gunderson reassured her "But will be soon", Gunderson once more pivoted on his side and nodded to one of the guards near the corner of the room. From her position Lara could not see anything but suddenly a body dropped from the above gantry landing hardly on the cement floor groaning in pain. "Check for yourself" Gunderson laughed, before leaving he whispered to one of the guards and the guard nodded in reply. Lara ran to the figure lying on the ground, the Agency mercenaries' guns never leaving her. She rolled the figure over and recognized the man immediately, his shaggy brown hair, his goatee with light stubble and his prominent blue eyes. "Kurtis" she whispered "Hello Lara" Kurtis exclaimed in pain. The guard who Gunderson had spoke to nodded his head again to his comrades and yelled "Fire!" his voice echoing around the warehouse just as the hail of bullets came down...


	8. Reunited At Last

**Reunited At Last**

...Bullets seemed to rain down as Lara dragged Kurtis' injured body behind the stack of crates occupying the centre of the warehouse, splinters were flying off of the wooden boxes from gunfire and a bullet nicked Lara's arm just below the shoulder, she hissed in pain as she took up a position next to Kurtis. "Lara I can help" he mumbled "Give me a gun I can do this". Lara couldn't believe this but she took off her backpack and gave Kurtis the Boran X she found in his apartment, "Who told you, you could take my stuff from my room" Kurtis joked but Lara didn't think that this was the time. The door began to open outside as the guards who were outside now spoiled to join the fight, "Oh great" Lara sighed but Kurtis remained calm, without any forewarning he used his telekinesis ability to fling the giant metal door off it's hinges and send it crashing into the very much surprised guards outside "Thank me later" he quipped. Lara waited for the firing to decrease before firing the rest of her clips up at the gantry, Kurtis loaded his Boran X and started shooting at the men by the right hand corner of the room. Midst the gunfire Lara couldn't help but feel better about herself she had found Kurtis alive and was now back fighting alongside him, but she was still aware of the situation she was in and took advantage of another break in the fire to rack up her kill count by a few more points. The gunfire seemed too heavy at one point and Lara severely had her doubts whether or not they would make it out of this battle, the only thing that kept her going was Kurtis and her determination to kill Karel and avenge Von Croy. Kurtis seemed to be handling himself well despite his injuries and before long all the Agency men were dead.

They both heard sirens faintly in the distance and they ran, in Kurtis' case hobbled down a complex of alleyways across the street from the warehouse, Kurtis couldn't handle the smell that well but Lara had grown accustomed to it by now. They found an old fire exit with it's door missing and ran inside to take refuge in an abandoned apartment building. "What happened to you?" asked Lara to Kurtis once the coast was clear. Kurtis spent the next half-hour telling Lara of his experience after his battle with Boaz, after he blacked out after being severely wounded he managed to crawl out of the arena and was soon found by Gunderson. Gunderson ordered his wounds patched up as he knew that Lara would go looking for him, Gunderson wanted them both to die at the same time. "They took my guns and my chirugai after it came back to me" Kurtis snarled "And it took me a year to make that gun", "Luckily you had a spare then" Lara said, he smirked at her and jokingly threatened "you'd better not have made a mess in my apartment", when Lara told him about the explosion his face fell "Don't worry I saved your journal" she told him as she handed him it from her backpack "and your father's artifact is safe". "Good" he said, "Why is that ring important anyway?" Lara couldn't help but asking after all she had put herself in mortal danger only to be disappointed by it's discovery. "It was my father's ring, and it was important to him not to me" Kurtis related "I hid it before going to the Louvre as I didn't want it being found by Eckhardt's lackeys""it's safe anyway" Lara reassured him."How did you know they'd take me to Paris" Kurtis asked, Lara paused for a moment and then realized that she hadn't a logical explanation she just did,"I didn't" she finally managed to say and the subject was dropped An awkward silence descended upon the room until Lara asked only half-jokingly "what did you mean by you were taken aback with me in your journal, Kurtis?", Kurtis sat up at a loss for words "I.. ..eh" he stuttered before changing the subject "what were you doing reading my journal anyway it's private" he scowled before breaking up laughing but both of them didn't forget about the comment.

The next morning after a dismal night on two old mattresses Kurtis shook shook Lara awake and asked her for help "Lara I know that Karel survived his battle with you and I need your help in defeating him once and for all". Lara agreed with him but was concerned as she didn't have the Periapt Shards anymore, "okay, but we need to act fast" she said bolstering his reserve, cocking an eyebrow at her he asked "Ever been to Turkey?" "Why Turkey?" was her response, "Well Gunderson mentioned that Karel was there to one of his men and wouldn't you know I happened to overhear this, and there was something else too, something about an old nephilim stronghold". Lara didn't need to be told twice, if Karel was involved she would go anywhere "When's the trip?" she said loading her guns for emphasis, Kurtis just smiled at her and said "I knew you'd help".


	9. The Look for Love

**The Look of Love**

It was dusk when Lara and Kurtis arrived at their destination in Turkey, after touching down at the airport in Ankara a long ordeal of traversing rocky roads laden with potholes followed, the trip was uncomfortable and they were both glad when they arrived in the village where they were staying. However further problems arose when the innkeeper gave them a single room with a double bed as he believed they were married. Lara wanted to complain but was afraid it would just fall on deaf ears and Kurtis just seemed indifferent to the problem. Once they got settled in Lara relaxed on the bed for a moment which was surprisingly more comfortable than it looked. Kurtis left the room to see if he could find anywhere to buy a carton of cigarettes, Lara just lay there examining the situation "Despite all the odds you've found Kurtis" her internal voice applauded her, Lara felt good despite the obstacles they still faced she felt a better than she had felt in a long time. Kurtis came back inside grumpy that he couldn't find a cigarette anywhere, he was craving nicotine badly. "Hey Lara, how did you meet Werner Von Croy anyway?" he asked out of the blue, Lara proceeded to tell him abut how he lectured once in Gordenstoun and recalled their adventure in Cambodia, she related everything to him, the bitter hatred, Set's possession of Werner and finally their last conversation. As Lara continued on she felt more sad as each minute progressed. When she finally recounted how she still hadn't forgiven Von Croy for Egypt she felt the tears welling in her eyes before she finally burst out crying, Kurtis just stood there blinking dumbly totally off guard before he gave her a consoling hug.

Lara continued to weep in his arms ,"He died thinking I hated him" she blubbered, Kurtis just made soothing sounds and letting her know "It's OK, let it out", finally she stopped crying her cheeks flushed and eyes wet. Kurtis produced a handkerchief for her to wipe the tears away, Lara looked at him, she noticed the caring expression on his face, his face was still badly bruised but she didn't care and a lock of hair covered one of his eyes, she brushed the hair aside and noticed his eyes, they pierced her soul and they seemed to see right through her. The tension in the room was overwhelming and they both thought the same thing "She probably wont settle for a guy like you Trent" Kurtis told himself, "Now I know why I wanted to find him so bad" was Lara's thoughts, the two moved even closer together Kurtis lifted her chin and kissed her. The moment lasted for a second and when it was done there was a pause "God what have I done" Kurtis thought but he was surprised when Lara kissed him back this time with more passion. Their lips moved as one and it felt so right, Lara had never felt this way about anyone before, not even her late fiancee, the tension in the room snapped and all the frustration, guilt, anger, all of it went out the window in those moments. Kurtis couldn't believe this was happening, he fell in love with her when he first saw her properly in Cafe Metro but never did he imagine that he would ever embrace her, "I told you that you felt for him" Lara's brain told her in victory. Neither wanted the moment to end and it wasn't long before it moved to the bed

The next morning Lara woke up and couldn't get over the previous night, she turned to Kurtis who was still comatose beside her, she smiled to herself and relaxed for a minute before getting up. She slipped into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror, she noticed that she looked noticeably better than she had in a long time. Exiting the bathroom again she pulled on her clothes and looked at Kurtis again lying in the bed. She blew him a kiss before leaving, she was hungry and wanted to get some food. When Kurtis awoke he was alone and Lara's clothes were gone "I knew this would happen" he said with the blues but the door burst open as Lara strode in , she tossed him a bottle of water, a banana and a granola bar "Eat up lover-boy" she laughed we've got a big day ahead of us, Kurtis smiled at her and wolfed the food down, his face still stung a bit from where he took the fall and he found it hard to chew the tough granola bar. He too felt good, he hadn't felt this happy since just before his father's death maybe even further back. "So Heissturm?" Lara coyly asked, Kurtis hadn't heard his birth name in ages and he told her how he wanted nothing to do with the Lux Veritatis changing his name to remain hidden, he only got involved after his father's death, and his need to avenge him. "Well lets finish the job" Lara boomed and Kurtis just laughed and replied "About time!"


	10. The Tomb Raider and her Accomplice

**The Tomb Raider and her Accomplice**

Lara and Kurtis stood on the barren,rocky incline, the sun was splitting the rocks and Lara was hot and irritated. Kurtis told her about a secret Lux Veritatis tomb underneath the incline but they had been searching for two hours now and there was no sign of anything. Kurtis too was beginning to lose hope and he picked up a stone to chuck across landscape, Lara sat on one of the rocks and took a drink of water and cool herself down when she noticed what she thought was a crack in the rock, upon looking further she discovered that it went the full way around the rock and there was a sort of keyhole next to it. "Kurtis, I've found it" she yelled and he came rushing over. "What do we do about the keyhole Kurtis?" she asked. Kurtis just smirked "Look at the hole", upon examining it further she realized it looked like the symbol on Kurtis' ring, "Don't tell me the ring is the key" she said rolling her eyes, "Precisely" was his smug response. The door slid open and Kurtis produced a flashlight to see through the dark, the cave went on about a hundred metres before they stepped into a burial chamber. "Why are we here Kurtis?" Lara asked, she hadn't been privy to this plan, Kurtis just said that the tomb was where they had to go, "This tomb contains a map of all the Nephilim strongholds in Turkey" was his exciting response "If my hunch is right then I know which one will be the place where our old friend Karel is hiding". Lara agreed with this plan no matter how unorthodox it was if it got her closer to Karel she'd go along with it.

Kurtis navigated them into a small anti-chamber at the back of the room, inside on the wall was a large map of the area on the wall. Lara was breath-taken at the detail put into the map despite the fact it was probably drawn up during medieval times. There were several black circles dotted throughout the map, one of the circles however was glowing white. Kurtis looked at the map coolly and muttered "Guess my hunch was right", he turned to Lara and explained to her that the circles represented Nephilim strongholds and that "This glowing one means that Nephilim occupy it, looks lie we've found him". Lara narrowed her eyes and said "When do we kill him", "Easy Lara" was his response "We're lucky,he doesn't know we're here, _and_ the Periapt Shards are destroyed we don't have anything to kill him with". Lara turned to him with shock "We've come all this way for nothing so?" she uttered with shock "Whoa simmer down there is a way" Kurtis replied "There is another weapon that the Nephilim have an Achilles heel to-The Crystal Bow.", "I've never heard of it" Lara said skeptically, Kurtis just chuckled and said "Of course not it was a secret the Lux Veritatis guarded alongside the Periapt Shards, to be used as a back-up in case the shards ended up in Nephilim hands, but I always thought it was a legend". Lara was pleased with this, she finally had a way to do what she had failed to do in Prague.

"Where is this weapon Kurtis?" she asked, Kurtis just looked away and admitted "I don't know, its location was only known to two knights and that was in the 14th Century-but this is the second reason we're here, as one of the tombs outside is the final resting place of one of these knights". This seemed too convenient to Lara but right now she didn't care about it and only wanted to make progress, she joined Kurtis in opening the heavy lid to reveal the centuries old skeleton of the knight. The knight was buried with his sword and shield and something faded protruded from underneath his shield. Kurtis gingerly removed the faded parchment from underneath the shield and was puzzled by the archaic language on it. "You don't happen to read ancient do you?" he joked to Lara, but was surprised when she was able to translate the parchment. "The Bow's resting place lies in the entry to the Black Sea, the bay of the straits." "What is that supposed to mean?" Kurtis scratched his head in confusion, "I think it might refer to Suvla Bay in the Dardanelles" Lara responded. Kurtis scratched his head again and said "That's some distance from here". Lara noticed a small symbol in the corner of the parchment, so faded it was very easy to miss, she didn't recognize it as a Lux Veritatis symbol and when she showed it to Kurtis he didn't either. "Can we trust this?" she asked, Kurtis just brushed the hair out of his eyes and said "What choice do we have". They set off from the tomb with the parchment and a location of Karel, the end was close.


	11. The Crystal Bow

**The Crystal Bow**

The waves broke on the shoreline, atop the hillside Lara looked out into the sea and couldn't help but think about the horrific scenery that this quiet beach had seen. She thought back to the Great War and the deaths of many men against strong Turkish positions, this thought even had a personal touch as one of her relatives was cut down in his prime here. She put the thought out of her head and trudged back to where Kurtis was standing, he shielded his eyes from the sun and sat down on the hill taking a drink of water from his bottle. Lara was concerned, her translation of the ancient text had bothered her throughout the journey "Have I mistranslated the text" she asked herself?", as if reading her mind Kurtis asked her "Are you sure this is the spot?", Lara ignored him and looked for any sign of the Lux Veritatis. If this Bow did exist she would find it. Kurtis got up and proceeded up the hill as if guided by something, Lara puzzled followed him, she called his name but he gave no answer. When they had walked about a mile from where they were, Kurtis suddenly stopped he turned to Lara and asked "What happened?". Lara was dumbfounded and couldn't offer an explanation. Upon further examination of the area Lara noticed the symbol on the parchment carved into a boulder, "Kurtis help me move this" she said already trying to move the heavy rock. Kurtis started pushing the rock as well and it gradually began to move it at a snail's pace. As the boulder moved it revealed a staircase going down into the bowels of the Earth. Kurtis nodded at Lara as if to say "you first" and stretched his arms to relieve his aching muscles. Lara pulled out a torch and proceeded to light the way for the pair, they stopped when met with a large door. Lara just uttered "great" but Kurtis just seemed to have another episode and spoke some ancient language to the door, banging noises were heard as the ancient stone door slid open throwing dust everywhere. Kurtis felt weaker and was about to topple over when Lara grabbed him and offered him some support, they trudged into a large chamber.

When they entered the chamber they were greeted by a man in medieval Armour and weapons, he stood in front of the pedestal containing The Crystal Bow, however the man was completely ethereal and the pair held their breaths waiting to see what he'd do. "Greetings" the phantom said "My name is Julian Limeaux, the guardian of the bow. Lara and Kurtis didn't know what to make of this, Limeaux spoke a dialect of French long since dead but both could somehow understand him in their heads. "I apologize for manipulating you" he said to Kurtis "but I knew you were Lux Veritatis and that your intentions for the Bow were clear ever since you found my tomb". "That was your tomb" Lara asked him, "Yes, I volunteered to keep the spear safe so that only a Lux Veritatis Knight could find it, which is where your friend came in, Myself and one of my fellow knights were the only ones to know of the weapon's existence but I chose to guard it".Limeaux walked over to where The Crystal Bow was and picked it up. He brought the Bow over and handed it to Kurtis, when the bow was in Kurtis' possession he said with shock "I thought it was only a legend, I couldn't imagine it being real". Limeaux laughed, a laugh which echoed throughout the chamber and said "That was the desired effect". As the pair turned to leave Lara asked him what the symbol on the parchment meant "It is the Guardian's Seal" he explained before vanishing into thin air his work done. They didn't turn back as they heard the stone door close behind they reached the surface Kurtis just stared at the ancient staircase as it crumbled and fell never more to be accessed by mortal men. "At least your translation was accurate" he smirked, Lara breathed a sigh of relief as the ancient weapon that would seal Karel's doom was in their possession. "Cappadocia beckons" Lara proclaimed as Kurtis handed her the bow, "I was never good at archery" he told her, Lara took the bow and quiver from him as she placed the items on her back, by now her back was crowded with items, her backpack, The Bow and the quiver of Crystal Arrows. "We have a lot of preparation to do first Kurtis" she told him, he nodded his head and produced a cigarette from a carton he had bought only an hour before, he lit the cigarette with his Zippo and inhaled. "Lets go!" he breathed smoke coming out his nose as he got up to leave.


	12. Preparing for Death or Glory

**Preparing for Death or Glory**

The cottage in the Turkish hills where they prepared was dark and musty. Lara just sat in the corner polishing and cleaning her guns, she didn't want them jamming at the wrong moment. Any other day Lara would have taken pride in the prime condition of her dual pistols. Anger had blinded her over the past few weeks and it's effects were still visible. Kurtis sat in a chair looking out the window, he reached in his pocket for his carton of cigarettes but just shook his head and threw them out the window "Gotta knock them on the head" he thought to himself, he turned to Lara as she pulled apart and vigorously cleaned one of her pistols for the third time. "Lara" he called and was surprised when she looked up at him with tears welling in her eyes. Without saying anything further he got up and went over to her and tilted her chin so that he was looking her in the face, he tried to give a comforting smile and asked her "What's wrong", Lara averted her eyes and told him "I don't want to fail,not this close to the end, I'll only let Werner down". Each word brought more pain and he gave her a comforting hug. She shook in his arms as he leaned in for a kiss. The kiss was full of passion like their first, Lara blushed and everything was alright for a few seconds, Lara suddenly broke off and when Kurtis raised his eyebrow in question Lara just said "Not now later"but her spirits were now bolstered thanks to that kiss. Kurtis removed the Boran X from it's holster and started to copy Lara's example, "Damn I wish I had my Chirugai" he thought "still at least I'll get to collect it from Gunderson's dead body" he smirked at the inside joke as Lara just looked at him confused.

Lara left the room for a minute and Kurtis took this opportunity to change into a new set of clothes, he looked at the bandage over his chest in the mirror and winced at the memory of Boaz's surprise attack. He got changed into a Lux Veritatis modern uniform, black long-sleeved shirt with emblem, field camouflage cargo pants and thick steel-toed boots with hidden blades. Lara suddenly re-entered the room with a new outfit of her own. Lara thought to herself "I wear this outfit too much", she told herself, Lara wore a turquoise tank-top, khaki shorts, thick boots with a pair of woolen socks and her brown leather backpack she had since 1984. "Ever since we were reunited, you have never taken that backpack off" Kurtis commented. "I've had it since I was 16" she told him, "Besides it's still more stylish than what you're wearing" she joked, "I am hurt Lara Croft" Kurtis exclaimed feigning offence but smiling all the while. The two sat there for a minute laughing but given current events joy wouldn't last for long.

Suddenly a burst of gunfire came through the window and Lara and Kurtis ducked beneath a table guns drawn, "How did they find us?" Lara roared as another burst came through the broken window. Kurtis stood up and emptied the Boran X in the the direction of the Mag Vega bursts, he ducked just in time as a third burst came flying through where his head was, Lara crawled towards the doorway and kicked the door down. Another burst came at her but it was enough to distract the mercenaries long enough for Kurtis to get up and fire outside, this time he was met with success as on of the gunmen floundered backwards. Lara fired some more from where she was and hit one of them in the leg, the man roared with pain but still fired at her. "They don't give up easy do they?" Kurtis remarked and fired out again. The injured gunmen roared something at his comrade but was soon silenced with a bullet to the throat, he lay there gurgling for a minute before becoming still. The last gunman emptied his magazine at the cottage and started to move back, when he thought he had gotten into a safe zone he turned his back to run just as the Boran X bullet hit the space between his shoulder blades. "Quickly we have little time" Lara ordered as she dashed out of the cottage "I've come too far to lose him now" she thought as she headed the through the hills in the direction of Karel's stronghold. Kurtis paused a moment before following Lara outside, "This is it" he thought to himself "The end is nigh..."


	13. The Final Fight

**The Final Fight**

Lara kept sprinting in the direction of Karel's stronghold, not stopping and hardly breathing. Her legs ached but she ignored the pain and continued going, even when her lungs began burning and she turned a deep shade of red she ignored it and kept running. Eventually it got to her and she collapsed against a rock panting heavily, she didn't know how far she had ran but there was a dirt track in front of her and the sun was scorching the rocky Cappadocia landscape. Lara turned to see a dust trail coming towards her, she barely had the energy to draw one of her pistols but the vehicle had stopped in front of her and she was picked up and put in the back seat before she could. "Don't wander off it only creates problems" came Kurtis' husky voice and she knew that she was safe. The car journey only lasted a few minutes before they had to abandon the car to remain hidden, by now Lara had regained her stamina and the duo crept up onto a ridge overlooking the old temple which Karel occupied. "There must be a dozen men down there" Lara declared observantly as she saw armed guards and vehicles guarding the entrance. "Lets not be subtle" Kurtis grunted as he darted down the hillside opening fire with his Boran X all the way, the first two guards were killed before they even knew what was going on and another four soon followed. Lara smirked at the gruff American's bravado and soon followed his lead. The mountainside was turned into a bloodbath as scores of Agency men were gunned down by the vengeful pair. Silence hung over the area as the last of the mercenaries was cornered and killed. "Ladies first" Kurtis said pointing towards the entryway, a big smile on his face "What's the matter, you scared" was Lara's witty response as she strolled casually past him noticing his smile fade.

The inside of the temple was like the outside, a ruin. The ancient pillars which once held up the roof were mostly collapsed and there was little artwork or splendour left in the empty shell of a building. "Ms. Croft" a familiar voice echoed through the ruins, although Lara could not see Karel she drew the Bow of off her back, plucking an arrow from her quiver in record time and pointing it at the direction of his voice. "I see you escaped Strahov without harm" the voice echoed coolly, "Pity, you caused me a great deal of harm". "Glad to hear it, Karel" Lara snarled "It was the least I could do, considering you killed Werner". Kurtis had separated from Lara after he heard Karel and went looking for the Nephilim to ambush him when he too was met with trouble. "Kurtis Trent" barked a voice from the shadows "It is time" just as Marten Gunderson leapt out from the shadows with a Karambit Knife drawn and ready to kill.

Kurtis skilfully dodged the blade thanks to his training and assumed a combat stance, he could have drawn his gun but he wanted to take satisfaction in killing Gunderson the hard way. "I taught you well Trent" Gunderson laughed his voice echoing throughout the room. Gunderson made another lunge at Kurtis but this time Kurtis was prepared, he twirled out of The Agency leader's way and slid his way behind him, using all his strength he grabbed Gunderson from behind and flung Gunderson into one of the ruined pillars. Kurtis walked up to the dazed brute and punched him in the face "You didn't train me" Kurtis spoke coldly "My father did". Without delaying any further Kurtis grabbed the knife of off Gunderson and plunged it into Gunderson's chest, before leaving though he retrieved his long missed Chirugai from Gunderson's belt and went to help Lara.

Lara slinked through the maze of pillars constantly hearing Karel taunting her "Where are you?" she thought as she examined the shadows for her target. Suddenly a stray Agency gunman emerged from the shadows, Lara instinctly dropped the bow and drew her pistols and gunned the man down. However the mercenary didn't die and kept coming towards her "Impossible" she thought just as the mercenary kicked the bow away from her, the gunman transformed right in front of her into Karel and she knew hat she had been tricked. The Last of the Nephilim grabbed her by the throat and put her up against one of the pillars "You may have destroyed the Cubiculum Nephili so easily in his weakened state, but you won't get the better of me". Lara looked into his face and could see the damage the explosion in Strahov had caused him, suddenly she felt faint as his chocking grip took effect on her. At that moment Kurtis arrived and seeing Lara in peril threw The Chirugai at Karel, the mystical weapon sliced open his back and this distracted him long enough to drop Lara. Turning to Kurtis he shot a ball of energy at the Lux Veritatis knight which hit him straight in the chest and knocked him off his feet.

Lara crept through the shadows looking for The Bow's location after Karel kicked it away from her. "Come out and face me foolish mortal" Karel yelled angrily, his voice once more reverberating around the ruins. Lara's foot stumbled against something and she turned around to find The Bow lying in the dust behind her. She grabbed the bow and sprinted to a position from where she could hit Karel from, an energy bolt exploded against one of the pillars next to her, sending debris everywhere and Lara could feel chunks of masonry cut her face. Karel narrowed his eyes as he focused on Lara "I have you now" he laughed triumphantly as he summoned a ball of killer energy at his fingertips, suddenly he could feel a great weight on his back. "Quick Lara shoot him" yelled Kurtis as he struggled to keep hold of Karel, Lara took careful aim and the world slowed around her. The arrow went arcing through the air before landing near Karel's abdomen, his scream pierced the air and Kurtis was shoved off of his back, another arrow followed, lodging itself in Karel's shoulder blade. The Nephilim slumped to the ground weakened before the final arrow found it's place in the middle of his throat. "That was for Werner" Lara spat at the dead Nehilim as she helped Kurtis up, "Thanks he responded and Lara smiled at him, but her smile soon faded as she noticed something behind Kurtis, she quickly shoved him out of the way as Kurtis heard the bang.

Whipping around Kurtis saw Gunderson standing there, a smoking Desert Ranger in one hand while his other hand clutched at a wound which up until recently had a Karambit Knife stuck in it. "It ends now Trent" he laughed, he took pleasure at seeing Kurtis trapped like this, he knew that Kurtis couldn't defend himself now and wasn't alert to the danger. Kurtis was seeing red but more importantly he also saw The Chirugai lying on the ground nearby from where he had used it against Karel, Kurtis used his power ans sent the bladed weapon hissing towards an unsuspecting Gunderson. _SLICE_, Gunderson's head went flying into the air and his body crumpled to the floor. Kurtis turned his attention to Lara who was lying there bleeding. She had never been shot before and the cold swept over her body faster and more biting than it had in Antarctica or Siberia. "Hang on Lara I'll get help" she heard Kurtis say to her before everything faded to black...


	14. In Conclusion

**In Conclusion**

Kurtis sat anxiously in the hospital waiting room, the nurse assured him that he would be further informed of Lara's condition but the wait had been too long for him to bear. He began pacing the room nervously, drawing stares from other people in the room "Keep it together Trent" he told himself drawing even more cursorary glances from people wondering why he was talking to himself. Eventually the doctor came into the room and simply nodded at Trent, letting him know he could see her. Without hesitation Kurtis quickly paced towards the hospital room were Lara was being kept, with each step the nervousness grew inside him alost overwhelming him. Taking in a deep breath and exhaling slowly he told himself he was ready and opened the door into a brightened room. The nurse attending the room and turned to Kurtis and exclaimed with a smile on her face "Congratulations ..." as Kurtis went over to greet Lara and their new arrival "...it's a boy!"

It has been two years since Karel and Gunderson's deaths in Cappadocia and time and time again Kurtis keeps reminding himself how close he came to losing the woman he loved. After Lara passed out he quickly moved her into an idle SUV and began a long and tense journey to the nearest hospital. Two hours had passed in the car but it seemed like an eternity to him before he got Lara medical attention. Despite flatlining in surgery twice she made a full recovery and only has a small scar underneath her left breast to prove that the events transpired. Shortly afterwards Kurtis proposed to Lara knowing full well at that point that he loved Lara and that she loved him, he could never be apart from her from now on. The wedding took place in one of the small chapels doting the landscape in Surrey near Croft Manor, Winston gave Lara away to him and Zip acted as best man. "She looks absolutely stunning" he thought as she walked down the aisle in her white dress, and even Zip showed seriousness at the occasion, partly because he was too dumbfounded to speak at the thought of Lara Croft getting married. Fr. Patrick Bram Dunstan smiled as he prounced the pair husband and wife, their wedding kiss was the most special moment in Lara's life and in her long and often dangerous lifestyle truly meant something. Unlike a normal couple their honeymoon consisted of discovering a rare artifact-"The Holy Grail" in Italy.

The nurse slipped out giving the pair some time alone with their child as kurtis advanced towards the bed. Kurtis felt proud when he held his child for the first time, Lara looked on smiling "He has your eyes Kurtis" she said. Kurtis looked into the bright blue eyes of the tiny infant and he could feel all his troubles leave him, he was no longer alone-he had a loving wife and now a child. "Lara, this is the start of a new chapter in our lives" he told her kissing her on the lips. "Say hello to your son Kurtis" she egged him on. "I know what we should name him" Kurtis declared "Not Kurtis Jr." teased Lara which was met with a sarcastic laugh, "No" he said looing once more into the baby's eyes, "Hello son" he murmered "Your name is Konstantin". Lara looked at her husband proudly "Like his grandfather" she whispered as the family embraced for the first time together


End file.
